With practice rounds commencing Thursday, the 2012 NCAA Rifle Championships are under way. The championship competition will be held Friday and Saturday at Converse Hall and French Field House on the Ohio State campus in Columbus, Ohio.

Individual and team competitions in smallbore three-position (60 shots) will be held Friday, March 9, at Converse Hall. Individual and team competitions in air rifle (60 shots) will be held Saturday, March 10, in French Field House. The overall team champion will be determined by combining the smallbore and air rifle team total scores into one aggregate score for each institution. Presentation of all awards will take place following Saturday's competition.

The eight schools competing for the NCAA team title are: Alaska-Fairbanks, Army, Jacksonville State, Kentucky, Nevada, UTEP, TCU and West Virginia.

The top eight teams in both the smallbore three-position and air rifle events were selected based on the average of the three highest regular-season aggregate scores with no more than one match at any given site. The average of the three highest scores was added to the aggregate scores from the designated qualifiers to determine the top eight teams.

A total of 48 competitors will compete in the championships, with 40 competitors coming from team rosters submitted by the eight teams. The remaining eight competitors were selected based on the scores submitted from the designated qualifiers.

Tickets are priced at $5 per day for adults; $3 for youth; children age 2 and under are free. Tickets are available at www.ohiostatebuckeyes.com or www.NCAA.com/tickets in advance or at the gate. All spectators should enter through French Field House.

Results will be posted after each session at NCAA.com and OhioStateBuckeyes.com. Fans can also watch a live stream of the competitions provided by Turner broadcasting online at www.ncaa.com/sports/rifle/dl or follow live results from the competition at www.NCAA.com.